This is in further response to your inquiry of June 8 addressed to Ms. Linda
Anku, Regional Administrator for region III. Your letter was forwarded to
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Directorate of
Compliance Programs. Your correspondence concerned clarification of the
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) regulation, 29
CFR 1910.120.

You have requested clarification on two points. First, you asked how 29 CFR
1910.120 covers an employee who will perform work that is not necessarily
related to clean-up or control efforts at a hazardous waste site. You also
inquired how this would be affected if these employees were performing work
during the period of time when a clean-up operation was not yet in progress.
You give the example of a utility worker digging up buried pipes between the
investigation and remediation phases of a site, during a time when there is
no on-site supervisor or a site-specific written safety and health plan.

Workers, such as utility workers, who must perform duties at a hazardous
waste site that has not yet been characterized but where contamination is
expected, do fall under the scope of 29 CFR 1910.120. These workers must
work under the direction of an on-site supervisor and a site-specific safety
and health plan, and must be fully trained and protected pursuant to the
HAZWOPER standard. When additional information becomes available through
site characterization which verifies that there is minimal or no risk of
employee exposure to hazardous substances, a lesser degree of PPE and worker
training may be acceptable.

When site characterization shows that the area to be serviced by workers is
free of potential exposure, or the proposed work assignments would not expose
any of the work crew to hazardous substances, the activity can be carried out
as a normal maintenance or construction operation.

Your second question addresses training for workers who will perform duties
that are not necessarily related to clean-up or control efforts at a
hazardous waste site. You ask whether your hypothetical utility contractor
is "bound to the number of training hours specified in 1910.120(e)."

The utility contractor is bound to provide at least the minimum number of
training hours specified. On a hazardous waste site that has many site
specific peculiarities the employer may need to train employees beyond the 40
or 24 hour minimum set by the standard. Employees must be provided training
that prepares them for their job functions and responsibilities, as stated in
the general requirements in 29 CFR 1910.120(e).

Training required by 29 CFR 1910.120(e) is also addressed in OSHA
Instruction CPL 2-2.51, dated November 5, 1990 (enclosed). The employer
would not compromise worker safety and health by following the de minimis
criteria in section G.3 of this directive.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions
please contact the Office of Health Compliance Assistance at (202) 523-8036.

In response to your letter dated March 26, 1992, relative to compliance
issues with the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard,
29 CFR 1910.120, we present the following interpretations.

The sites which you have discussed in your letter all fall within the scope
of the 1910.120 standard in that some element of government has designated
them to be voluntary or involuntary clean-up actions relative to hazardous
materials. Activities which are not necessarily related to hazardous
materials abatement, clean-up, or control, but never-the-less may be
hazardous work activities in of themselves are not specifically discussed in
the text of the 120 standard. They are covered, however, in paragraphs (b),
(c), and (d), the site safety and health program, site characterization, and
site control.

Namely, the site-specific comprehensive written plan must address
all work activities on site. Site characterization must identify
and characterize all physical, biological, and chemical agents as well as all
safety hazards that the site presents to any workers regardless of work
activity. The site control procedures must limit all access to the site
only to authorized employees or agents. Therefore, the site-specific
plan must address work operations such as utility employees who dig up buried
pipes and cables or read meters, turn on or shut off service and the like.
The amount of training, ppe, work practices, and medical surveillance needs
to be addressed in the plan or the on-site supervisor must address the
situation on a case-by-case basis. Failure to do so when the work activity
compromises the safety and health of the worker will result in appropriate
apparent violations of 1910.120.

In summary, the site-specific written safety and health plan must discuss
with particularity how both hazardous waste operations and non-related
hazardous waste operations are to be conducted at the site. If the plan
fails to discuss the issue adequately and/or the site supervisor fails to
amend the plan appropriately, and this results in a compromise of worker
protection, then sections of 29 CFR 1910.120 would be violated.

Sincerely,

Linda R. Anku
Regional Administrator

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

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